THE BLUE REVOLUTION

Wed, 25 Feb 2009

Marine Program Officer, Jennifer Palmer, empowers the students at University of Pennsylvania

Photo: Craig Dahlgren

IUCN’s Jennifer Palmer was invited to join a prestigious panel of speakers to talk about marine issues at the first Annual Ocean Explorer’s Symposium held on Wednesday, 18th February 2009, as part of the University of Pennsylvania’s year of special public programs dedicated to conservation.

Entitled, ‘Ocean Explorers: Dialogue on the Fate of the World’s Oceans’, the Symposium, hosted by the UPenn School of Veterinary Medicine, was dedicated to the declining state of ocean ecosystems.

Fresh from the launch of Oceans in Google Earth v. 5.0 in San Francisco, Jennifer inspired students with her enthusiasm and innovative ideas on how to get involved in ocean conservation including the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, and the internet at large to engage global public interest in marine issues with her presentation: ‘Ocean Revolution: Connecting People Around the Globe to Revolutionize the Fate of Our Blue Planet’.

“Thank you so much….you reminded us that we have the chance to organize and motivate large groups of like-minded people across the world…that power is pretty fantastic,” explains an inspired UPenn Student following the Symposium.

Palmer spoke alongside the keynote speaker, Dr. Enric Sala, a research fellow from the National Geographic, and long time friend of IUCN, and Alonso Aguirre, Cofounder of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine at the Wildlife Trust and Chairman of the World Association of Wildlife Veterinarians.